Henry Saw: Cars 2 and Rango

An unexpected delight and Pixar's first true failure...




Rango:

After the disasters that were the last two Pirates of the Caribbean films, I was not at all interested in seeing director Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp team up again. Even when Rango got some very positive reviews from critics I trust I thought it looked obnoxious and derivative. I was completely wrong. Rango is a wholly original, lovingly made, and totally unique romp. Filled with knowing humor and joyfully irreverent plot turns, Rango is one of the coolest movies to be released in 2011.

"From the director of 'The Pirates of the Caribbean' comes 'Rango,' featuring Johnny Depp in an original animated comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West. The story follows the comical, transformative journey of Rango (Depp), a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in? When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt -- a lawless outpost populated by the desert's most wily and whimsical creatures -- the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt...until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, Rango starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be." (Via Moviefone)

Rango plays as a love letter to both classic westerns and the surreal works of Terry Gilliam, Hunter S. Thompson, and Carlos Castaneda. It's a strange blend for a children's film, and I'm honestly not sure how much Verbinski cared about entertaining kids, but I personally really enjoyed his film. It looks like no other CGI film I've ever seen before, the animals and world are animated in an exaggerated but photo realistic manner, and Verbinski uses his blockbuster pedigree to craft some truly exciting action scenes.

Rango is also buoyed by Johnny Depp's best performance in years. Verbinski, taking a page out of Wes Anderson's book, filmed his actors acting out each scene and then had his animators use that footage to create the film. That technique works even better here than it did for Anderson's The Talented Mr. Fox. Rango really feels like a Johnny Depp character, but unlike his recent garish performances in Alice and Wonderland or the fourth Pirates film, has a sense of spirit and inspiration that those roles utterly lacked. The rest of the cast, which includes Isla Fisher, Bill Nighy, and Timothy Olyphant, are all perfectly utilized and you can tell the actors loved playing their parts.

Rango is a real pleasure. Anyone who enjoys spaghetti westerns, kooky and hip children's films, or the movie Chinatown (you'll know why when you watch it) should seek out Rango. There is a controlled chaos to the movie that I found completely engrossing. While the movie might be a little too long, and not all of the jokes hit their mark, I would still say that Rango is by far the best animated film of the year.

Which brings us to our next review...



Cars 2:

It was inevitable. We knew it was coming, and some of us predicted it would be this year, but it is still kind of sad. Eventually, Pixar was going to have to make a bad movie. In the history of cinema there have been few runs that can compare to what Pixar accomplished from 1995-20110. From Toy Story, to the The Incredibles, to Wall*E, to Toy Story 3, Pixar's films have been so exemplary that they have changed how American critics and audiences view and discuss animated films. And though there have been some Pixar movies I didn't connect with, both Ratatouille and Toy Story 2 are films whose charms escaped me, I still think they are both excellently made and worthy of all the praise they received. In fact, the only movie Pixar ever released that I would have described as sub-par was the original Cars, a movie I found boring and uninspired, but it was not without its admirable qualities.

Which brings us to Cars 2...which is a terrible film. An awful, obnoxious, and ugly movie. At least the first Cars was earnest and made with the very best of intentions. Cars 2 feels like a soulless product that was made with no creative burst behind it save a desire to make money. If it was made by any other studio it would be easier to dismiss, but Pixar has set the bar so high for itself that Cars 2 is an especially depressing experience.

"Star race car Lightning McQueen and his pal Mater head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage." (Via IMDB)

I really have very little to say about this movie. It is a disposable and irritating waste of time. None of the humor works, the awkward car puns are plentiful and painful, and the movie is centered around the annoying sidekick character of Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy). The driving scenes are dull and predictable, the espionage plot is actually just hard to follow, and the movie's message is highly questionable. I really kind of despised Cars 2, something I never thought I would say about a Pixar film, but then again...I guess it was inevitable.

'Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away'

Let's hope Pixar can rally back next year with their first fairy tale picture Brave.


Rango: B+

Cars 2: D